Is a Lack of Innovation Acceptable from the Wii

When the Wii was first announced I was very skeptical of Nintendo's decision making. After owning, and being severely disappointed with the GameCube, I thought this was going to be Nintendo's swan song. However, I like almost everyone else on the planet, was proven wrong. Nintendo realized that the market wasn't necessarily asking for a console with a lot of power, but a console that offered them something new and innovating. Enter the Wii and its Wiimote. The Wiimote offered endless possibilities; the accuracy that was promised was mind-blowing. This console could allow you to simulate tennis, baseball, bowling, boxing, accurately control Link, Mario, Samus, and most importantly, and I can't emphasize this enough, you could finally act out your dreams of being a freaking Jedi!!! I mean come on, a Jedi. What a brilliant idea.

The Wii's innovative. It's at least more innovative than Call of Halo: Gears of Warfare 2. The problem is that whenever a good game comes out on Wii that isn't Mario/Zelda/Metroid/whatever, nobody buys it. Then they whine about there not being any good innovative games on Wii.

I'll argue in favor of the Wii all day every day. is there a lot of shovelware for the console? Hell yes there is, But that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of great content for the system as well. Just about every title Nintendo has released has been very good (At worst) and a worthwhile experience. Sure, games like Wii fit aren't what hardcore gamers are looking for, but opening their console to a wider demographic wasn't a bad thing and though it doesn't suit everyone, that doesn't mean it's not worth while. Meanwhile, I just finished NMH2 and the conduit and had a fantastic experience with each. Looking forward to many more. (including goldeneye!:)

I've been currently been playing Metroid Other M and that game is freaking amazing. If anybody can remember the commercial for Metroid Fusion when they play MOM, that's exactly how the game plays. Anybody downplaying the Wii either don't have one or they are just plain ignorant.

Did you read the article? The author states that they think other M is innovative. they are just waiting to play it. If you bothered to read the article in the first place, then you would see their frustration with the lack on innovation, not quality games. There is a difference. That is why I quite liked the article. The author doesn't chastise Nintendo for a lack of good games, just innovative ones.

he should have waited before writing the article then, they made some pretty bold moves with one of their biggest franchises. What has Sony or MS done differently this gen compared to the last? I don't see innovation in Halo or God of War.

Heavy Rain. Demons Souls. EchoChrome. WKC (free MMO town-sim and hub questing + a single player adventure is pretty unique in the console space). Limbo (though that one was more due to developer inventiveness as opposed to MS, who just published it).

Those games are all rather innovative. Halo and God of War are distilled and stereotyped franchises. You really could have chosen better examples.

I'm enjoying Arc Rise quite a bit at the moment and I just got done playing Muramasa on the Wii as well. They system has some fantastic games. It also has a tonne of shovel-ware, more than any of the other systems. You'd be remiss to ignore this fact. The rest of this article is just made to rile people up, and it seems to be working. I am not even going to touch this article beyond contenting your point, as it's a fanboy minefield.

Edit: I think that its safe to say that with the over-abundance of FPSes and the homogenization of gaming in general that there is a distinct lack of "innovation" in the industry at large. Nintendo's library isn't the only one guilty of this (though theirs tends more toward throw-away party games as opposed to dime-a-dozen shooters).

Whether a game is made by 1st party studios or not is irrelevant. That's not the point of the article. The PS3 has a breadth of quirky, adventurous titles some funded by Sony - EchoChrome, LocoRoco, LBP, Folklore, Heavenly Sword, Uncharted (innovative in the scope of it's cinematic flair, hadn't really been done before) - some not.

I already mentioned that Limbo was only published my MS, so I'm not sure why you'd bring up that either. The fact is that whether they're just publishing or developing this content themselves, it's being put out there on their systems. There's nothing to stop Nintendo from standing behind and publishing interesting 3rd party content. They just choose not to.

Edit: Heavy Rain and WKC were also heavily endorsed and marketed by Sony. Again, it doesn't matter who makes the game, so long as a company is standing behind it, they are associated with the mind-share.

Glad to see some of you guys are using your good brains. And don't defend this dude if he hasn't even played all the 2010 games yet. When I see the gameplay of the new Kirby, how is that NOT innovative? Like I said, this guy is pure bullshit on a stick. And the number of Wii games I want outnumbers the other two consoles combined this fall. And "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Nintendo games have been ahead of the game so long that some people forgot where most of their so called favorite games got their ideas from. LOL

Look, you can throw out single games all you want and say that they're great. But to be fair to this writer of the article, we're discussing if the Wii lacks in innovation here. So even though Super Mario Galaxy 2 is one of the best games of all time, it's still not innovative. What is innovative is the games that pushes and uses Wii's controller mechanics in new ways. Super Mario Galaxy (the first one), Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and also Wii Sports (yes, actually)

But have we seen a lot of innovative content on Nintendo Wii lately? I'd say no. Metroid: The other M and Red Steel 2 (note: It's a sequel, but the first one failed) are the most innovative games this year. And when we look at what the other consoles have received so far I think it's pretty clear that Wii is behind.

I don't care. Can I not say the same about Xbox 360? When was the last time an Xbox 360 game innovated? Even on PS3, I can't think of THAT MUCH innovation although Little Big Planet 1 and 2, GT5 and some other games are doing so within their space. I'm too excited about DK, Kirby Epic Yarn and Zelda: Skyward Sword to care.

(I feel a bit stupid for listing games, after actually thinking that the difference between 360/PS3 and Wii in terms of innovation lately is big enough for everybody to see)

Limbo - Very recently, and probably the most innovative game of the year. ModNation Racers - First time someone innovates the Kart Racing genre in the 21st century. 3D Dot Game Heroes - Brand new take on retro gaming. Demon's Souls - Just unique and incredibly good. AND Singularity, Red Dead Redemption, Mass Effect 2 (not very innovative, but it sort of innovates in quality), Bioshock 2, the list goes on...

All these games were released in 2010 (in Europe at least, which is where I live) And don't try to counter I can name a lot more.

A lot of PS3's and especially a lot of 360's innovation comes from downloadable games (Joe Danger, Shank, DeathSpank and so on...). It doesn't take a genius to figure out that there's more of that on 360 and PS3 then on Wii.

However, my main point is that Wii was a console made to innovate. When PS3 got Resistance: Fall of Man and 360 got Gears of War Wii owners were mostly like "Not really bringing anything new to the industry", but now all you say is "Who cares, we have these established franchises" which is fine by me, but don't come here and say that you still play the innovation card.

I'm all for innovation. My point is this generation has become obsessed with innovation and can't appreciate a game for just being good. I mean look at Uncharted 2 and God of War III. They weren't innovative at all but they just practically perfected their genres. I didn't say that PS3 and 360 had less innovation than Wii. You misread. My point is that innovation is lacking in this generation across the spectrum. PS3 and 360 have more of it as obviously it has more 3rd party devs working on them. But innovation is lacking all over the place and to call up one system on it that has abysmal 3rd party support is stupid. Really we should just appreciate the few good games the Wii gets and look for the innovation elsewhere.

I couldn't agree more, but I didn't misread. What I meant to say is that there's no point in mentioning established franchises that obviously are great when we're talking about innovation. If Wii lacks in innovation, then it lacks in innovation and even though it makes up for it by being great in other ways it still lacks in innovation.

(And now I've actually managed to use all my bubbles. Oh well, I had a good run)

Wii music, Wii Fit, Wii Sports - not exactly brilliant compared to the above, heck even some of the franchises on x360 are better and I love my wii, but Ninty loves remaking old games and adding new elements and calling it a whole new game, just look at the differences between SMG1 and SMG2 for evidence...

Well Sony have not yet released their motion controller and already we can see thet they are innovating with motion controls. I agree that If it were not for nintendo both Sony and M$ wounld not have been botherd with motion controls at all.

However the fact is that most of the really good games on the wii can be played without motion controls, and the ones that do use motion controls don't innovate beyond the usual waggle mechanics.

With games like Heavy Rain and Sorcery, Sony is demonstrating new immersive ways that games can be played with motion controls.

Kinect will also bring something new to the table, but there is already limited scope for the range of games that can be played with it.

I guess it comes down tot the limitation of the tech in question, and remembering that the wii is closing in on 4 years now (which typically is the average length of a console cycle), I'd say it's about time for the tech in general to be reiterated.

I'll argue in favor of the Wii all day every day. Is there a lot of shovelware for the console? Hell yes there is, But that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of great content for the system as well. Zelda, Mario, MadWorld, No More Heroes, Conduit, Zack & Wiki, Metroid, Silent Hill, Dead Space the list goes on...

No More Heroes, Silent Hill and Dead Space are for 360/PS3 as well. Actually, there are more Silent Hill games on PS3/360, while Shattered Memories for Wii is a PS2 port. More Dead Space games for 360/PS3 as well, and Extraction is coming for PS3. Finally No More Heroes Paradise for 360/PS3. But I agree very much with The conduit, Zack & Wiki and MadWorld. Three new franchises for the Wii that innovates (Conduit sort of innovates) and that are very, very good.

I wouldn't disagree if someone told me that Wii has loads of great games. But I would disagree if someone told me that Wii has lots of innovative games. Especially recently. Wii is looking strong this fall though (but so is PS3 and 360)

You see this article is based on the opinion that you are owed something by Nintendo. Which you're not. They have had innovative software releases the problem is it's overshadowed by shovelware. Check Rrobba's list above there's plenty of innovation it's just a shame it didn't take off. Probably because people are constantly throwing negative aspersions over everything Nintendo do. Just like you.

Yeah, but the people throwing negative aspersions over what Nintedo do isn't the people that has a Wii anyway. And to be fair, the innovative games on that list that didn't sell well aren't made by Nintendo.

I think this article was very good. Though I think the Wii has more than just three innovative titles, contrary to what the writer concludes with in the end. World of Goo could get a mention for example, but there aren't really any more innovative games on the Wii than what has already been mentioned in this comment section, perhaps Boom Blox as well.

Wii is a great console (and cheap!), but innovation is a very rare sight on Wii.

Even I tire of what ninty is doing I used to love mario games and along came SMG2 and it was pretty much SMG1 in disguise... trouble is it's not the only game they have done this, look at the pokemon series, or the zelda series why must they insist on tweaking a few small things on each game and then renaming it, only newbies will fall for it i.e my daughter who does not know that mario pretty much has not changed story wise since the very first game

Mario's story matters? ._. I mean, stories in games are a good thing...but I've always viewed Platformer 'plots' as more a means to reach the situations that require the platforming. Hence the interplanetary thing, as it allows a bigger variety of platforming situations. And, from what I've experienced, the platforming of Mario games does a notable evolution from one console generation to the next.

Other then that, I basically agree when it comes to Pokemon and Zelda.

Yeah just like you people can play the exact same series generation after generation ad nausea, it works both ways sidar. So because you suck at fps games and they don't isn't their problem. I could bash all gamers that play sports games because i can't stand sports games but that is just childish.

Lord for as bad as you say people write off the wii, your just as bad for writing off the ps3 and 360 entirely, get a rabies shot already.

Innovation is also subjective.

Maybe better physics dumbass, better stories,life like characters you can empathize with. You people pcz are the polar opposite of extreme graphics whores and just as annoying to boot, maybe you also should also look at other consoles games beyond the wii.

You missed the irony of my comment. People speak of innovation while all games have been borrowing systems and ideas from older games. The Innovation usually lies within the more smaller details. Thats why i said people like to throw around the word "innovation" but completely miss their own hypocrisy when they are praising a FPS game. Cause lets be honest FPS games dont innovate on a bigger scale, FPS games innovate on subtle details. Im not hating on FPS games, thats just you putting words in my mouth. So think before you assault people because you can't comprehend it.

Innovation is not "subjective", "The act of innovating; the introduction of something new"

Whether you believe something is innovative or not, is subjective. But whether something [IS] innovative is based on objective views.

Its painfully you are bashing PCZ just because you have a different mindset, cause whether you want to believe it or not, Wii-music IS innovative, whether it appeals to you or not isn't related to something being innovative. What you are talking about isn't innovation, but an EXPERIENCE.

there is no innovation on the ps3/360, only imitation- as proved by their motion control technology.

and dont talk to me about graphical advances.. what has the ps3/360 done this gen that is truly 'new' ? bloom effects? soft focus effects? particle effects? long draw distances? its all bollocks and only an expansion of the old technology.

people are sleeping on the wii! no innovation? open your fucking eyes! every game nintendo releases pushes the boundaries a little bit further. If you can't see that then you have simply forgot what the wii is about. all you have to do is look in your hand at the wii mote to see innovation.

even a tiny little gameplay mechanic from new super mario bros, where you tilt the wii mote to tilt on screen platforms= innovation.

maybe you should stop tossing over polygons and screen resolutions and think a little deeper.